Vtol aircraft



May 17, 1960 P. G. KAPPUs vToL AIRCRAFT Filed Sept. 6, 1957 7a P/Mf (aA/rea ma (0A/fea A ing and control elements.

v'roL Arncraslrrrv Peter Gottfried Kappus, Cincinnati, Ohio, assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Application September 6, 1957, Serial No. 682,328

6 claims. (cl. 244-23) i craft using a ducted-fan engine in which a smooth exl.

ternal vehicle surface completely encloses all the rotat- In recent years, much emphasis has been placed on the development and perfection of the so called VTOL or vertical take-off and landing type of aircraft. Thisis an aircraft that requires no runway and takes oif directly upward or substantially so and is then directed forwardly by either shifting weight or by suitable control surfaces to provide a horizontal component Vof force. In some propeller driven types of VTOL aircraft, the whole vehicleor engine is tilted for horizontal flight. The advent of the jet engine has indicated it to be a desirable powerplant for such an aircraft if suitable control means and size can be obtained in an efficient vehicle to make the project feasible. As is well known, the jet engine consumes relatively high quantities of fuel Ywhich can be a distinct disadvantage in VTOL aircraft which are designed for subsonic or low subsonic forward operations in that the vehicles have a' very short range of operation. Another disadvantage is that such vehicles are inherently unstable in ight. Consequently, there is a need for a vehicle of this type which willhave a clean outward appearance within practical size limits and be capable of sustained flight at high subsonic operation with a practical specific fuel consumption.

` Many of the VTOL aircraft of the type discussed here are nothing more than ying engines with a load platform to carry the pilot. Devices of this type, which have thus far been perfected, have been either propeller operated or, in those employing jet engines, have been limited by very short ight duration, time, and relatively 10W speeds.

It isa primary object of the present invention to provide a VTOL aircraft which will have a much higher sustained operation time with economy of operation in fuel consumption and which is capable of higher flight speeds than similar aircrafts heretofore known.

Another object of the invention is to provide such a lvehicle which has a high ratio of fuel load to gross weight .and is self contained in that all the rotating parts and controls are completely enclosed within the vehicle itself to prevent'external drag and provide completely flexible control.

A further object is to provide such a vehicle which attains these objectives by the use of a ducted fan engine in combination with enclosed control surfaces in the nozzle or exhaust stream within the contines of the ve- I hicle.

Briefly stated, in accordance with my invention, I pro- United States Patent O 2,936,973 Patented May 17, 1960 ice .p Y 2 eration. This is attained small diameter for its thrust capabilities.

My invention will be better understood from the following description Ytaken in connection with the accompanying drawing and its scope will be pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawing: Y

Figure 1 is an elevation view of the VTOL aircraft of the instantl invention as it would appear on the ground and,

Figure 2 is a crossl sectional view illustrating the internals of such an aircraft. p

Referring first to Figure 1, a VTOL aircraft of the type described in the instant invention, may be termed a ying engine, since, in effect, it consists of nothing more than a barrel-like housing generally indicated at v10, which is supported at one end in a vertical position on the ground byV suitable ysupporting means 11 and carries at the other or upper end a load carrying platform 12 which may accommodate Ythe pilot 13. The pilot may or may not be enclosed by a suitable protecting canopy 14. In order to pilot the aircraft, a suitable control panel 15 is provided.

` This may preferably comprise a gas generator engine of the axial iow type including a compressor section 16, a combustion section 17 which may be annular or can- Vnular as shown, and a turbine section 18. This structure which, in effect, is a turbojet engine minus the nozzle is generally referred to as the main engine.

In order to provide for economical operation with relatively low specific fuel consumption within a vehicle of much smaller diameter than heretofore believed necessary, I employ a powerplant of the ducted fan type. This may comprise a free rotating turbine 20 having fan blades 21 on the extremity thereof. l

For compactness of operation and high ratio of fuel load to gross load, fuel tanks 22 may form the outer casing of the gas generator or main engine. The fuel tanks are supported within housing 10 by means of struts 23 and 24. In order to provide for aligned rotation of the turbine and compressor, bearing 25 is supported from the fuel tanks by struts 27 and from the housing by strut 28 and bearing 26 is supported from the fuel tank by strut 29. The engine shaft 30 is supported in these bearings. v

The increased mass flow obtained by the use of the ducted fan engine is obtained by the provision of the bypass duct 31 VVbetween the housing and the engine in which ducted fan blades 21 compress additional air for increased mass flow. Fan blades 21 are driven by free turbine or turbines `20 which are supported in bearing 32 separate from bearing 26. Thus the turbine 20 is disconnected from and freely rotatable with respect to the main engine. It is to be noted that the free fan may comprise a single stage, or plurality of stages as shown which stages may rotate in the same direction as the main engine or in the opposite direction. In addition, if a plu- .the housing member 10 is an air intake surfaceq The for the main enginepflows upwardly around struts' ,25

within a vehicle of relatively` andinto the compressor section 16 as `shown .by the arrows. The air to the bypass duct flows directly to said duct past struts 23 as shown by the arrows. Y

-An exit nozzle 19 is provided for Vthe aircraft by the provision of extension 34 which may conveniently Aform separate fuel tanks as auxiliary 'tank 3 5 and may be shaped in the form Vof a nozzle -of :the-fdesiredrparttern. Auxiliary tank'35 connects -with the main tank i2?. by means of conduit 36. Y

Control of the aircraft is achieved by the provision of control vanes 37 which may lie in a transverse lplane at the nozzle exit 19 and may be any suitable ntunber as required. As shown, they consist of four l.vanes in Athe 'shape of a cross'and thesevanes are pivoted for 'independent rotation about their longitudinal laxes by pivot means 3S which are carried and supported in the end of fuel tank 3S. in addition, as desired, l*vanes 37 may serve as additional support for the free turbine and -rotor at the downstream end thereof.

Actuation of vanes 37 is provided by control means 39 'connected to Vthe vanes 'and tofthe pilot compartment on the load carrying -surface or platform 172. The control means may beeither externalas shown for clarity or internal. internal mounting of the control means is pr fer-able Ito provide a clean outer surface to the vehicle.

lt is to be noted that the control vanes 37 are located within the'nozzle 19 and completely within the yfan slipstream as `well as the engine exhaust stream. The engine exhaust-stream and fan stream provide the vertical lift and the .orientation of control vanes 37 determine the forward component. With the instant arrangement, it is kpossible to provide high forward speeds.

Among other suitable controls on-control panel 15 is vthe aforementioned vane control means 39 and a fuel control 45t. Fuel control 40 is` connected .to the fuel tanks through a regulator 41 to provide the proper .amount of fuel injection to the combustors and combustion section 17 asfclear'ly shown.

The operation of the aircraft Will lbe apparent from the above description. Y The gas generator or mainfengine provides thrust directly by its exhaust gases exiting from nozzle 19. In addition, the gas generator acts as a powerplant generating exhaust to drive the vfans for increased mass ow through the fan duct or bypass duct or bypass 31 which stream also lexits through nozzle 19. All of the parts are completely enclosed within housing to provide a clean aerodynamic external surface and a smaller diameter for a given thrust is provided by the use of the ducted fan engine. Forward motion Vis obtained 'bythe orientation of the control vanes 37 after take-off has been achieved.

While l have described a preferred form of my invention, it Will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made and it is intended to cover in the appended claims all such changes and modifications that come within the true spirit Vand scope of the invention.

What I claim as new and desire to Secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. A VTOL aircraft comprising, a tubular housing closed at one end to form a load carrying surface and having a nozzle opening at the other end, a gas generator engine supported in spaced relation within said housing and exhausting through said nozzle, a bypass duct between said engine and housing exhausting through said nozzle, air intake openings in the lwall of said `housing supplying 'said engine and duct, movable control vanes carried by said housing within said nozzle, and control vmeans connected to said vanes to vary the orientation of 'the vanes.

2. A lVTOL aircraft comprising, a tubular housing closed atfone end to form la load vcarrying surfacean'd engine supported in spaced relation `within said housing `and 'exhausting through said nozzle, a bypass rduct between .said engine `V and .housing exhausting through .said nozzle, fans in said duct driven by said engine combustion products, air intake openings peripherally disposed in said housing supplying Ysaid engine and duct, a plurality of movable control vanes carried by said housing within said nozzle, and control means connected to said vanes to vary the orientation of the vanes.

3. A VTOL aircraft comprising, a tubular housing closed at one end to form a load carrying surface and having 1a nozzle openingat the other end, a gas generator engine supported in spaced relation within said housing and exhausting through V.said nozzle, a bypass duct between said engine and housing exhausting through said nozzle, at least one -free fan coaxial with said engine extending into said duct and driven by the combustion products of said engine, screened air intakes peripherally disposed in said housing supplying said engine and duct, a plurality of-movable control vanes carried by said' housing downstream `of* said fan and Awithin said nozzle and control means connected to said vanes to vary the orientation of the vanes. v

V4. A VTOL aircraft comprising, a cylindrical housing vclosed at one end to form a load carrying surface and having a lnozzle opening at the Aother end, an axial ow 'gas `generator engine supported in -spaced relation within said housing andexhausting Ythrough said nozzle, a bypass duct `.between said engine and housing exhausting through said nozzle, a .second free turbine `of at least one stage `downstream of said engine, fan blades on the periphery of said free turbine and extending into said duct, said free turbine being Adriven by the combustion products of said engine, screened air intake openings peripherally disposed insaid housing supplying .said engine and duct, a plurality of rotating control vanes carried by said housing :and disposed within said nozzle in a plane transverse to the engine axis downstream of said fan, and control means connected to said .vanes to vary the'orienta'tion of vthe vanes.

5. A VTOL aircraft comprising, a cylindrical housing closed vat one 'end' to form a load `carrying 1surface and having anozzle opening at the other end, `an axial flow gas generator engine supported in spaced relation -within said housing and exhausting through said nozzle, a bypass duct between said engine and 4housing exhausting through said nozzle, fuel tanks surrounding saidengine and form- Ving the casing thereof, at least yone second free turbine coaxial with said engine yand downstream thereof, fan

having -a nozzle opening at the other end, a gas generator blades on the peripherty 0f said free turbine extending into said duct, said free turbine being driven by said engine combustion products, air intake openings `peripherally .disposed in said .housing supplying saidengine and duct, a plurality of movable control vanes carried `by said housing in -said nozzleat the exit thereof,-said.vanes being disposed .in a plane transverse to said engine axis, and control means connected to saidvanes to vary the orientation of the vanes. Y

6. A VTOL vaircraft comprising, .a cylindrical housing closed at one end to form a load carrying surface and having a nozzle opening at the other end, fuel tanks forming the outer and innerwall of said nozzle and an extension of said housing, an axia'i ilow `gas generator engine supported in spaced concentric relation within said housing Vand exhausting through said nozzle, a bypass duct between said extension and said engine, `fuel tanks surrounding said engine and forming the casing thereof, at least one 'second free turbine coaxial with said engine and downstream thereof, fanmeans driven by said free turbine and extending into said duct, said free turbine being driven by said engine combustion products, air intake opening above said extension in the wall of said `housing and supplying said engine and duct, a plurality of rotatable control vanes'carried by said extension 'in'saidnozzle atthe 'exit thereof vand being disposed in a plane vtransverse to said engine axis, controlmeans `connectedto-s'aid vanes 5 to vary the orientation of the vanes, and means connected 2,405,919 Whittle l Aug. 13, 1946 to said housing to support said aircraft in upright position 2,828,929 Lippisch .1 Apr. 1, 1958 on the ground.

References Cited in the le of this patent 5 y UNITED STATES PATENTS Porter Dec. 26, 1922 v OTHER REFERENCES .Aviation Week, April 25, 1955, pp. 44, 47. Aviation Week, August 5, 1957,v p. 51. 

